Lilies of Orange and Roses of Red
by barneyrockz
Summary: The conventional story of the Hunsford proposal told in a rather unconventional way.


**I was looking flower meanings for some reason earlier and after reading some I immediately thought of P&P. Thus, this story was born. I know that normal people don't just carry around flowers, but just go with it. There is a guide at the end if you missed any of the flower meanings.**

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Elizabeth looked up as the door to the parlor opened. The maid stepped in and announced Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth was quite taken aback by this and was even more flustered as the gentleman himself entered. Why was he not at Rosings; he must know that he would find her here alone. Elizabeth stood to greet him with as much politeness as she could manage through her surprise.

With an air of impatience, Darcy pulled a peony from his coat and handed it to her. Elizabeth was well versed in the language of flowers, as any young lady should be, and instantly understood him to be inquiring after her health and wishing her well. A peonywas also a popular flower to give to one's spouse on anniversaries as it meant happy marriage as well. But Darcy must mean it as simply a cordiality. The other meanings had to be erroneous.

She gestured for him to sit and he did so. He sat for but a few minutes before he was up again and pacing the room in obvious agitation. He fretted with his hands and worried the signet ring on his finger. At last he turned and stepped toward her. From the look of determination in his eyes she guessed she was finally about to discover the meaning of this impromptu visit.

From within his coat, Darcy extracted a bouquet and handed it to her. Elizabeth grabbed the flowers automatically and glanced between them and him several times before she turned the full of her attention to what he was trying to communicate to her.

The first flowers to catch her eye were the red roses that occupied the outer extremity of the bouquet. Their symbolism was obvious, but impossible to comprehend. Was Mr. Darcy, the very proud and disagreeable gentleman who thought himself so above her, truly confessing his love for her? With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Elizabeth turned her attention to the other flowers which were less confusing.

The bouquet also contained crown imperials, briar flowers, tiger lilies and red columbine. If the roses had really been a declaration of love then what she saw next was much less romantic. The message she understood was of his superiority to her; his wealth and position so much greater than her own. And then he insulted her. The briar seemed to be laughing at her family and their low breeding and scorning her connections in trade. Next he continued to show his conceit and pride, almost flaunting it. Did he not understand how disagreeable she thought his pride was? The columbine was supposed to convey a message of anxiousness for something, his declaration of love most likely. But as she looked into the face of the man before her, she saw not one shred of anxiety in his features. He had not doubts that she would respond favorably.

As her eyes had moved from the edge of the bouquet to the center, she had seen all the other flowers before she had a clear understanding of their purpose. The last flower left her in no doubt of the reason for his coming. A phlox flower, centered in the heart of the bouquet, could be interpreted as nothing but a proposal of marriage.

Her face paled and she stared dumbly down at the flowers she held. The flowers nearly fell to the floor as her hands began to tremble. She looked up to see Darcy looking at her expectantly. She glanced back down at the flowers and a shadow crossed her face. Who was he to give her such an insulting proposal? There are far more flowers of a romantic nature than ones with negative implications. The bouquet seemed to mock her now and even the phlox and red roses took on a negative light. This new found resentment, coupled with her previous distaste of the man was enough to assure her of what she needed to do.

Elizabeth set the offending bouquet down on a side table and offered Darcy a flower of her own. He took it, but upon registering her meaning, his fingers stiffened and the striped carnation slipped from his grasp. His eyes watched the carnation as it floated to the floor and remained on it for sometime after it reached the ground. Just as she had earlier thought, he had entertained no idea of rejection.

After an awkward silence, Darcy pulled from his coat a love in a mist. She had taken it again without much thought, but once she understood the meaning she laughed bitterly. Did he really have to ask why she refused him? Was it not obvious?

With venom she all but threw a zinnia and a wormwood flower at him. Individually they meant nothing in the current situation, but together they conveyed their message well. He quickly understood her to mean the separation of Bingley and her sister. In reply he handed her a candytuff. Elizabeth visibly shook with anger as Darcy implied he thought her sister indifferent to Bingley. He thought that Jane—sweet wonderful Jane—was a fortune hunter or leading Bingley to believe more than she truly felt. What right did he have to make such an assumption?

Having nothing more she could say on that matter without exploding in rage, Elizabeth turned to accuse Darcy of a different crime. Thrusting an adam's needle and a nettle flowerto his chest she opened a topic which had not come up between them since the Netherfield Ball; Wickham. It took several minutes for Darcy to understand her meaning, but when he did, his entire countenance shifted. His face grew red and his jaw clenched. He tossed a flower at her in fury and Elizabeth had to reach her hand out quickly to catch the small blossom. It was a Chorizema Varium which meant, quite literally, you have many lovers. With a noise of anger, Elizabeth dropped the flower to the floor and crushed it with her slipper clad foot.

They stood at odds with each other, the silence oppressive as they no longer passed messages. Finally with a slow and controlled movement, Elizabeth plucked an orange lily from the pocket of her dress and pushed it firmly into Darcy's hands. This time it took him mere seconds to fully understand her meaning. An orange lilywas a sure sign of hatred and disdain. She could not make it clearer if she had spelled it out for him. With a small forlorn sigh, Darcy handed her one last flower. Elizabeth took the cyclamen from him, knowing he was not just saying a temporary goodbye, but a final one.

As he walked out the door, a single blossom fell from his hands to the floor. He did not stop to pick it up, nor did she expect him too. He had left her one last message. Elizabeth stared at the garden anemone that he had left behind and fell back into a chair. His message said clearly that he was feeling abandoned and forsaken, but right at that moment, Elizabeth could not bring herself to feel any pity for him.

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_Guide:_

_Peony:__ (Healing, Life, Happiness in Marriage) __Red Rose:__ (Love, Desire, Respect) __Crown Imperials:__ (Majesty, Pride, Power of Birth) __Briar Flower__: (Insult) __Tiger Lily__: (Pride, Wealth) __Red Columbine__: (Anxiety) __Phlox:__ (Proposal of Marriage) __Striped Carnation__: (Refusal) __Love in a Mist__: (Perplexity_,_ You Puzzle Me) __Zinnia__: (Thoughts of Absent Friends) Wormwood__:__ (Separation, Torment of Love) __Candytuff__: (Indifference) __Adam's Needle__: (A Friend in Need) __Nettle__: (Cruelty, Slander) __Chorizema Varium__: (You have many lovers) __Orange Lily__: (Hatred, Distain) __Cyclamen__: (Goodbye) __Garden Anemone__: (Refusal, Abandonment, Forsaken)_


End file.
